Xu Lin's mother patted the bewildered Lan Qing and added, facing Ye Wenxue:
"You've already benefited us greatly by helping us do charcoal business to earn money for the winter; we can't take advantage of you for nothing."
Xu Lin's mother and the bald man's mother exchanged a glance: "We've discussed it, and we won't do business with you anymore. Instead, you can hire us to work for you, and we'll pay you two coins a day."
Ye Wenxue frowned: "This won't do."
Xu Lin's mother: "Is sprouting beans as troublesome as making tofu?"
Ye Wenxue shook her head: "It's only a little troublesome at the beginning, but after that, you just need to check on it and water it whenever you have free time."
"Isn't this it?"
Xu Lin's mother was not the type to take advantage of others. Selling charcoal was out of necessity. In addition, Xu Lin's father did spend a lot of time and effort on the charcoal making process, which is why he agreed to a 35% share.
"But it's just a matter of watering every day, something your kids can do themselves. It doesn't take much effort, so it's more cost-effective to hire us to do the work."
Bald man's mother patted Ye Wenxue's shoulder with a smile:
"Don't think too much about us, think more about yourself and your children."
I'm teaching them how to embroider handkerchiefs, and Xu Lin's mother is also teaching me how to grind tofu. Besides eating it regularly, we can also sell it to earn money.
"Helping you sprout beans is just a small favor, why bother giving us extra money?"
The bald man understood what the two old men meant, but hesitated to speak.
Sigh, Mother is just too concerned about saving face and too considerate of Boss Ye. Doing business with Boss Ye is such a good thing; at worst, she can just give him a bigger share of the profits...
He silently suppressed the rest of his thoughts under his mother's gaze.
Baldy's mother knew exactly what kind of person Zhang Suinian was, and immediately made her final statement:
“Madam Ye, in my opinion, you need to hire people not only to sprout beans, but also to sell them. You can’t let anyone take away your money, as you have several children to support.”
They have enough to eat and wear, charcoal to use, and they don't even need to go out. Their children are all grown up and don't need to be fed or cared for anymore. What's the point of having so much silver?
Ye Wenxue chuckled; this was the second time she had ever met someone so naive when it came to money.
Hmm... the first person I met was Xu Lin's father.
He patiently taught her how to make charcoal step by step, and he didn't charge her any money. It was the money she left behind when no one was looking.
Ye Wenxue thought for a moment and said, "Then let's do as you two say. I'll hire you to help sprout beans, but we'll have to discuss the wages separately. I can't treat you unfairly."
The two old ladies' words served as a reminder to Ye Wenxue.
She had considered hiring someone, but she thought about it one more time.
Instead of hiring people, it's better to form a cooperative partnership and become a community of shared interests, so that you won't have to worry about being betrayed.
But all three of them are trustworthy, and even if they weren't brought together to cooperate, they wouldn't easily betray her.
From this perspective, hiring someone is indeed better than partnering... she gets more money in her hands.
Under the bald man's resentful gaze, Ye Wenxue quickly made an agreement with the bald man's mother, Xu Lin's mother, and Lan Qing.
There wasn't a written contract in this remote mountain village, but since they were all in the charcoal business together, a verbal agreement would suffice.
After leaving the warm house, Ye Wenxue was still clicking her tongue in amazement: "Your mother and you don't seem like family at all. Look at her big picture perspective!"
Baldy didn't understand anything about the big picture; all he knew was that the money he was about to get was gone. He had a crying face and wished he could cling to Ye Wenxue's leg and beg her to help him earn more money.
Ye Wenxue pushed the man away, and seeing that he had handled the matter of those who had been driven out of the stronghold quite well, she offered some advice:
"You should gather your brothers and brainstorm ideas on what legitimate business you can do. You can't rely on me for everything. What will you do when my son goes to private school and I go down the mountain with him?"
The bald man touched the stubble that had grown on his head and began to ponder.
Boss Ye is right, we must be self-reliant and strong... No, he has to go and ask Zhiwang.
But then Ye Wenxue added, "I'm planning to hire Zhiwang to sell bean sprouts for me. Do you think he'll be willing?"
The bald man, who was beaten to it: "...Of course you can."
Fortunately, the bald man quickly realized that there was a man named Zhiwen down the mountain who ran a charcoal business.
If all else fails, try picking from the newly found orphans; you might find a few smart ones.
"Okay, okay! Sure, sure, sure! It's settled!" Zhiwang agreed immediately when he heard that he was helping Ye Wenxue with her work.
After calming down, he remembered that he was a member of a bandit stronghold and had been hired to ask the old man for permission beforehand.
Zhiwang sneaked over to see the bald man.
The bald man rested his chin on his hand in frustration and sighed dramatically, "Sigh, it seems the few kids we just picked up in the village will have to learn martial arts from Zhiwu."
Zhiwang: "No way!"
Having only brute strength but no brains will not lead to anything in the future!
It doesn't imply anything about the bald guy or the bandit gang.
But the bandit stronghold no longer allows businesses to operate without capital. If you don't use your brain, you can only move firewood and transport charcoal. If the eldest brother is ruthless enough, he probably won't have enough to eat.
Zhiwang thought for a moment:
“Elder brother, why don’t you pick a few clever ones and send them down the mountain to work with Brother Wen in the charcoal business? They’re short-handed down there. Pick two more to come with me. I can’t say how much I can teach them, but at least it will broaden their horizons.”
The bald man was satisfied and chuckled, "Okay."
The counterfeit businesses don't support freeloaders!
You should know that the few elderly people and young children in the village would go out to chop firewood or gather mountain products on snowy days.
Ye Wenxue learned from the village's accountant that the village had stockpiled more than a dozen bushels of soybeans. He used his silver to buy a few loose bushels and asked the villagers to deliver them to the bamboo house.
The accountant, having received the silver, smiled obsequiously: "Boss Ye, there are still a few bushels of mung beans in the storeroom. Would you like some?"
Xu Lin's mother wanted to make tofu, which required soybeans. There was no shortage of places to use the soybeans in the warehouse, but the mung beans could only be stored away for later consumption.
green beans?
Ye Wenxue thought for a moment and said, "Let's start with a dou (a unit of volume), I'll give it a try."
This was the first time they had taken money from Ye Wenxue. The mountain stronghold's accountant and even the bald man were very satisfied and generously gave him a bushel of mung beans, free of charge.
Ye Wenxue couldn't let anyone suffer a loss, after all, the bandit stronghold had too many people to support, over a hundred.
She then divided the dozens of kilograms of bean sprouts she had sent out into two portions, giving one portion to the bamboo hut so they could have a taste.
Another portion, along with a few pounds of sweet potatoes and corn, was sent to Zhixing in Longxing Prefecture along with the written reply.
Whether he eats it or sells it, it's up to him.
Three or four days later, the bandits arrived in Longxing Prefecture with a reply and several newly opened kilns of charcoal.
Zhixing studied the reply letter over and over, his gaze lingering on a line written by Ye Wenxue.
After instructing his bandit underlings to purchase the medicinal herbs needed by Dazhuang and Xu Lin, Zhixing picked up a bean sprout and chewed it slowly, looking thoughtful.
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